Improvisational drama techniques (IDTs) can benefit foreign language (FL) learners by offering them an engaging way to practise speaking while hiding behind the safety of a character mask. This study aimed to glean perceptions toward and experiences with IDTs among FL student teachers, as well as training needs related to integrating IDTs as a pedagogical tool. Foreign language student teachers at a Dutch university who had not received IDT-training took part in a questionnaire (n = 197). Former student teachers who had taken such a course in drama were interviewed in depth (n = 9). Almost all student teachers - both those who had and had not received IDT-training-shared the belief that IDTs have added pedagogical value. The majority of student teachers who had not had drama training indicated that they did not often implement IDTs in their classes. Former student teachers who had IDT-training continued to integrate IDTs with some regularity. Both groups provided valuable input on the components that should be included in a future IDT-training module for both student teachers and in-service teachers. Our findings give rise to the hypothesis that training can play a key role in galvanizing teachers to implement IDTs, and allow us to formulate design criteria for an innovative training module.
LINK
Researchers worldwide have identified affective benefits of improvisational drama techniques (IDTs) on foreign language (FL) learners. Yet the characteristics of professional development programmes (PDPs) that could lead to long-term integration of drama among FL teachers appear largely undiscovered. Through expert interviews, a needs analysis questionnaire and a literature review, this study aimed to determine which design principles a PDP must fulfil to effectively address educational challenges surrounding IDT-implementation. The findings revealed that such training calls for a symbiosis between practical considerations, namely school environment and training conditions, and tapping into a mindset among FL teachers that allows them to (re)discover core beliefs and carry out IDTs with ‘artistry’.
DOCUMENT
A significant body of research supports the affective benefits of drama activities in foreign language (FL) learning, yet little is known about how to train teachers to implement such activities. In this study, we tested a professional development program (PDP) aimed at galvanizing FL teachers to integrate improvisational drama techniques (IDTs) into their repertoire. IDTs are defined here as activities which place pupils in a fictional situation and stimulate spoken interaction. Nineteen Dutch secondary school FL teachers participated in the PDP. The goal of this research was to discover the extent to which (1) teachers implement IDTs according to the study’s definition, (2) the techniques become integrated into the teacher’s repertoire, and (3) teachers develop the self-efficacy to execute IDTs. All three areas were met with positive results as evidenced through questionnaires, logbooks, observations and interviews. Teachers demonstrated that they could inspire the fictional artistry of drama while simultaneously stimulating FL speaking. Frequency of implementation also increased after the training. Self-efficacy furthermore improved widely, both in implementing IDTs and speaking activities in general.
LINK
A significant body of research supports the affective benefits of drama activities in foreign language (FL) learning, yet little is known about how to train teachers to implement such activities. In this study, we tested a professional development program (PDP) aimed at galvanizing FL teachers to integrate improvisational drama techniques (IDTs) into their repertoire. IDTs are defined here as activities which place pupils in a fictional situation and stimulate spoken interaction. Nineteen Dutch secondary school FL teachers participated in the PDP. The goal of this research was to discover the extent to which (1) teachers implement IDTs according to the study’s definition, (2) the techniques become integrated into the teacher’s repertoire, and (3) teachers develop the self-efficacy to execute IDTs. All three areas were met with positive results as evidenced through questionnaires, logbooks, observations and interviews. Teachers demonstrated that they could inspire the fictional artistry of drama while simultaneously stimulating FL speaking. Frequency of implementation also increased after the training. Self-efficacy furthermore improved widely, both in implementing IDTs and speaking activities in general.
DOCUMENT
Researchers worldwide have identified affective benefits of improvisational drama techniques (IDTs) on foreign language (FL) learners. Yet the characteristics of professional development programmes (PDPs) that could lead to long-term integration of drama among FL teachers appear largely undiscovered. Through expert interviews, a needs analysis questionnaire and a literature review, this study aimed to determine which design principles a PDP must fulfil to effectively address educational challenges surrounding IDT-implementation. The findings revealed that such training calls for a symbiosis between practical considerations, namely school environment and training conditions, and tapping into a mindset among FL teachers that allows them to (re)discover core beliefs and carry out IDTs with ‘artistry’.
LINK
Both within the Netherlands and beyond, young people often start their formal foreign language (FL) education just as they reach adolescence. Speaking the FL in class can be intimidating, and this challenge is often exacerbated as teachers lack ready access to engaging speaking activities. In language classrooms around the world, improvisational drama techniques (IDTs) have been shown to engender positive affective reactions (e.g. enjoyment) and spoken interaction. Yet little research has been conducted on how to train FL teachers to implement IDTs. With this doctoral research project, the goal was to discover which characteristics of a professional development program (PDP) can foster integration of IDTs in the FL classroom and in turn stimulate affective factors related to willingness to communicate among secondary school pupils. The first three studies focused on developing design principles for the PDP and consequently a prototype for this training. The following two studies involved testing and refining this prototype by offering this training to FL teachers. Finally, the impact of the PDP was evaluated among trained teachers’ pupils. The collective findings revealed that the PDP design was viable in its relevance to teachers in galvanizing them to implement IDTs. Their pupils found drama activities to be engaging and fun, and they expressed greater willingness to communicate than during other types of speaking activities. This project was conducted through the Multilingualism and Education Research Group at the University of Applied Sciences Utrecht in conjunction with Utrecht University, Faculty of Humanities.
DOCUMENT
Dutch secondary school pupils seldom speak the foreign language in class, citing anxiety as a primary factor (Haijma, 2013). Implementing improvisational drama techniques (IDTs), however, could help ameliorate this situation by generating positive affective reactions, such as confidence and joy, and in turn stimulate pupils to speak. The concept IDT in this study contains two key elements. Firstly, participants take on roles in fictitious situations. Secondly, the activities must elicit spontaneous speech as to offer language learners opportunities to practice real-life communication, which is central to the goal of this research. The question driving this study was: What types of IDTs induce positive affective reactions among pupils and, as such, have the potential to stimulate spoken interaction in FL classrooms? The study yielded 77 IDTs associated with positive affective reactions through a literature review and an analysis of student teacher reflections on their IDT use in their English classrooms. This combined evidence lends credence to the conception that it could be the essence of improvisational drama that generates positive reactions, rather than the type of activity—the essence being an invitation to enter a fictional world, combined with the improvisational element that readies learners for spontaneous interactions.
DOCUMENT
Improvisational drama techniques (IDTs) can benefit foreign language (FL) learners by offering them an engaging way to practise speaking while hiding behind the safety of a character mask. This study aimed to glean perceptions toward and experiences with IDTs among FL student teachers, as well as training needs related to integrating IDTs as a pedagogical tool. Foreign language student teachers at a Dutch university who had not received IDT-training took part in a questionnaire (n = 197). Former student teachers who had taken such a course in drama were interviewed in depth (n = 9). Almost all student teachers - both those who had and had not received IDT-training-shared the belief that IDTs have added pedagogical value. The majority of student teachers who had not had drama training indicated that they did not often implement IDTs in their classes. Former student teachers who had IDT-training continued to integrate IDTs with some regularity. Both groups provided valuable input on the components that should be included in a future IDTtraining module for both student teachers and in-service teachers. Our findings give rise to the hypothesis that training can play a key role in galvanizing teachers to implement IDTs, and allow us to formulate design criteria for an innovative training module.
DOCUMENT
Survivors of father–daughter incest often suffer from complex trauma and sensory insensitivity, making it difficult to decipher the sensations in the body and experience body ownership, self-location and agency. This case study illustrates how sensory focused, Trauma-Centred Developmental Transformations can help restore or develop a bodily self, desensitize fear-based schemas, revise deeply buried beliefs and extend repertoire.
DOCUMENT
Developmental Transformations (DvT), a practice involving interactive, improvisational play in pairs or groups, has gained international appeal as a therapeutic intervention for different populations in a variety of health, care and recreational contexts. However, a rigorous review of the benefits of DvT has not been conducted. The purpose of this study was to review extant literature for the observed benefits of DvT, identify gaps in the literature and make recommendations concerning future research including identifying possible areas for outcome measurement for preliminary studies. The authors, who each completed training in this approach, conducted a scoping review of English-language, published, peer-reviewed and grey DvT literature through 2021. From an initial 745 records retrieved through databases and a manual search, 51 publications met criteria, which, when analysed using in-vivo and pattern coding, resulted in a total of seventeen categories of observed benefits ascribed to DvT. These included six general categories – relational, emotional, social, cognitive, behavioural and physical benefits – and eleven complex categories of benefits to participants across the lifespan. In addition to benefits for participants, benefits of DvT were also observed and reported for facilitators, therapists, teachers and supervisors engaged in this practice. This review revealed inconsistencies regarding the reporting of practitioner training, frequency, format, population, intended goals, assessment measures and outcomes. Future studies with increased experimental rigor, standardized outcome measures and consistent reporting are recommended.
DOCUMENT
